Over the past week and a half, I've done 3 test rides. Here's my thoughts....
Suzuki VStrom 650: Great little bike, handles well even when you get the tires loose in a sandy turn. I had Mary on the back, holding on to the grab bars for her life. She refused to hold onto my jacket. Luckily, I felt the bike was underpowered. 2 up may not have been a fair test.. We did way too many miles as this was an open ended test ride. I liked the bike but with it's lack of power, Not really hot for it.... Top speed we achieved on the ride- 90 mph.
Yamaha VMax, Gen II: Holy Moly. It's like sitting on a Clydesdale Horse. Feels very well balanced. I felt the handling was great. Power was tremendous. This was a supervised ride but just me and the Yamaha Ride Master. Restrictions were: No Tire Smoking, No Wheelies, No, No, No. Within those restraints, I did hit 90 in a big hurry and almost overshot the lead bike. Oops... I'd own one of these if not for the price tag. Yamaha did give me a $200.00 Coupon....:rofl_200:
Yamaha FZ-8: This was a ride with multiple other riders and bikes. Cluster F..k... I almost stalled the bike as soon as I started letting out the clutch. Way tall gearing. We rode for about 5 miles and I avoided collisions with other riders about a dozen times... Once we got onto the open road, I had the opportunity to tweak about 1/2 throttle. Sweet...... When we made a U-Turn, we lost the back half of the pack. Yamaha had a bike following so he took over those riders. For me and the guy on an R-1, we slacked back with the same intention. I don't know what he ended up doing but I hit an indicated 101 mph pretty quick. Had to drop off so I didn't come screaming past the couple bikes still in front. This bike has an enormous wide tank so it feels like the scoops on the Max.. I sure wouldn't mind taking one of these on a ride around Tampa Bay.... I need way more input on this bike......
I wanted to ride the FZ-6 but figured I'd probably stretched my luck far enough with the guys running the show......
It's been a fun week and a half.......:clapping:But this FOG is worn out.... Oh, I did a lot of shooting in this time too.... About 20 hours worth in 3 sessions... My trigger finger hurts....:rofl_200: Watched millions of OP Rounds go bang too.
Suzuki VStrom 650: Great little bike, handles well even when you get the tires loose in a sandy turn. I had Mary on the back, holding on to the grab bars for her life. She refused to hold onto my jacket. Luckily, I felt the bike was underpowered. 2 up may not have been a fair test.. We did way too many miles as this was an open ended test ride. I liked the bike but with it's lack of power, Not really hot for it.... Top speed we achieved on the ride- 90 mph.
Yamaha VMax, Gen II: Holy Moly. It's like sitting on a Clydesdale Horse. Feels very well balanced. I felt the handling was great. Power was tremendous. This was a supervised ride but just me and the Yamaha Ride Master. Restrictions were: No Tire Smoking, No Wheelies, No, No, No. Within those restraints, I did hit 90 in a big hurry and almost overshot the lead bike. Oops... I'd own one of these if not for the price tag. Yamaha did give me a $200.00 Coupon....:rofl_200:
Yamaha FZ-8: This was a ride with multiple other riders and bikes. Cluster F..k... I almost stalled the bike as soon as I started letting out the clutch. Way tall gearing. We rode for about 5 miles and I avoided collisions with other riders about a dozen times... Once we got onto the open road, I had the opportunity to tweak about 1/2 throttle. Sweet...... When we made a U-Turn, we lost the back half of the pack. Yamaha had a bike following so he took over those riders. For me and the guy on an R-1, we slacked back with the same intention. I don't know what he ended up doing but I hit an indicated 101 mph pretty quick. Had to drop off so I didn't come screaming past the couple bikes still in front. This bike has an enormous wide tank so it feels like the scoops on the Max.. I sure wouldn't mind taking one of these on a ride around Tampa Bay.... I need way more input on this bike......
I wanted to ride the FZ-6 but figured I'd probably stretched my luck far enough with the guys running the show......
It's been a fun week and a half.......:clapping:But this FOG is worn out.... Oh, I did a lot of shooting in this time too.... About 20 hours worth in 3 sessions... My trigger finger hurts....:rofl_200: Watched millions of OP Rounds go bang too.
